


you’re my only friend (and i need you)

by unholybiscuit



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Cute Kids, Didn't Know They Were Dating, F/F, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Kid Fic, Tiny Catra - Freeform, Tiny adora - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Young Love, catra is middle eastern, catra’s real name is catrina, glimmer is adora’s little sister, hand holding, they’re the cutest kids ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24914245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unholybiscuit/pseuds/unholybiscuit
Summary: a new girl transfers to adora’s kindergarten class, and adora sets on a mission to befriend her.or, a modern au where adora and catra are best friends in kindergarten.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 277





	1. You’re Lame

Adora was always quiet in class. The small, dainty five year old was practically silent in class, only speaking when spoken to. She wasn’t shy- she just preferred doing things by herself. That was the way it had always been for Adora. She had been dumped into the foster system as soon as she was born, with her parents wanting absolutely nothing to do with her. Of course, she didn’t know that. Adora always believed that they would come back for her one day.

She didn’t mind staying with her teacher, really. Miss Angella was always nice to her- and if she was good, she’d sneak her some extra pudding at lunchtime. Adora always giggled at that, putting her chubby finger to her lips and promising not to tell anyone. Miss Angella was a great foster mom. She had another daughter, Glimmer, who wasn’t quite old enough to be in Kindergarten yet. Adora got along with Glimmer amazingly, and would probably call her her best friend. Other than Glimmer, Adora didn’t have many friends. Sure, people talked to her, but it was usually teasing her for being the teacher’s pet. 

Adora longed for someone she could talk to in school. She was quite content with sitting by herself- but it would be loads more fun if she had a friend. That day, she set off on a mission, “Operachon Find Adora a Best Frend” as she had written on her piece of paper. During recess, she had planned to walk around the Playground and find anyone who was sitting by themselves. Adora would ‘go over there, talk to them and instantly become their best friend, and live happily ever after in a house together with a dog!’ She imagined. 

The bell rang for recess and Adora shot out of her seat, dashing out of the class first and straight into the Playgroud. She frowned, quickly realising that she was the first in the Playground, so she had to wait to find everyone else. Adora pouted and marched over to a bench, sitting on it and resting her chin on her hand. She waited. And waited and waited, until the bell rang signalling the end of recess. Not one person was by themselves- except Adora. The girl sighed, standing up and shoving her hands in her pockets of her little blue jeans. She’ll try again at lunchtime.

As Adora walked back into the school building, she noticed something different. Miss Angella was standing in front of the door, instead of her usual place inside the classroom.  
“Children,” Angella started, clasping her hands together with a soft smile on her face, “We have a new friend joining our class today. Everyone, say hello to Catrina!” She gently pat the back of the small child standing next to her.

Catrina was tiny. She had messy, dark brown curly hair sprouting from her head all the way down to her chest, and dainty freckles littered all over her chubby cheeks. However, Catrina’s most noticeable feature were her two bright multi-coloured eyes, one a bright cerulean and the other a deep golden brown. The kids head was facing down, almost as if she didn’t want to be seen. She didn’t move, didn’t wave- she simply stood there, her dark curls covering her face. 

Angella clapped her hands and turned to the other students.  
“Now, I want you all to treat Catrina with kindness and...” she looked at the children expectantly. The class was silent, except from a small voice at the back of the group.  
“Respect....” Adora trailed off as everyone’s eyes turned to her, even the new girl. Adora’s cheeks flushed red. She wasn’t ever the centre of attention, and quite frankly she hated it.  
“Well done, Adora! Gold star for you,” Angella smiled at her, and Adora grinned back with her signature, toothy grin she only showed to Angella. 

The other kids started piling back into the classroom, leaving Catrina and Adora the last ones outside. As they walked past each other, Adora heard Catrina mumble the word, “lame,” under her breath. She furrowed her eyebrows, angry at being called such a mean word. She gets ready to defend herself, mouth opening to speak before remembering what happened last time she raised her voice. She did not want the attention on her again. So she closed her mouth, folded her arms and sat in her seat.

-

That night, Adora was coming out of the bathroom after her brushing her teeth when she saw Angella come in and sit on her bed. Angella usually tucks Glimmer in first, so why is it Adora today? Adora waddles into the room and sat on her bed cross-legged, facing Angella.  
“Was something bothering you at school today, Sweetheart?” Angella asks, and Adora’s eyes widened. She must’ve heard Catrina calling her lame. Adora could’ve easily just admitted what happened, but for some reason, she couldn’t. She wanted to cover for Catrina. She didn’t know why, however. But something inside Adora was telling her that snitching on Catrina was wrong.

So she told the first lie she’d ever told in her life.  
“Nope,” she said, popping the p. “Today was good! We got to make paper chains!” The child insists, opening her drawer and holding out the chain she had made earlier today. She’d decorated hers with a red felt tip pen, covering the chain in red scribbles and an abundance of red glitter. Adora was proud of it. Angella smiled at the child, patting her head affectionately.  
“It’s beautiful, Adora. Are you sure absolutely nothing bothered you today?” She asked. Adora shook her head, still grinning. Angella kissed her cheek and tucked her into bed, and Adora pulled the covers up further.

“Goodnight, mama...” she mumbled, half-asleep already. Angella smiled widely, and closed the door to her daughter’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my socials are:  
> twitter: FRlGHTZONE (the i is a lowercase L)  
> instagram: caringarcher


	2. Frogs are Gross

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catrina have a gross experience, and Catrina gets a nickname.

The next day at school, Adora was the first one in class. She always was- with Miss Angella being her foster mom, of course. Adora liked the mornings. She would sit on a beanbag by herself, quietly colouring in or humming a song. Usually, she had around an hour of alone time before anyone else in her class.

Not today, apparently. A tall, dark haired woman strolled into the class, holding the wrist of a very disheveled Catrina. The taller woman looked terrifying to Adora. She made eye contact with her, and Adora felt her eyes widen. She averted her eyes away quickly and tried to focus on anything else but the scary woman.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Miss Angella, but I have a very important meeting at my job, and I need to drop Catrina off early. I hope she won’t be too much of a disturbance,” the woman spoke, glaring daggers at Catrina. The girl sniffed, and Adora noticed she was crying. 

“Of course she can come early, Madame Weaver. Catrina, you can play with Adora!” Miss Angella suggested, and Adora perked up at the mention of her name. She gave a little wave towards her, but Catrina payed no attention to it and lowered her head down again, similar to the first time they’d seen each other. Madame Weaver gently pushed her into the classroom, before turning on her heel and walking out.

Adora made her way towards the front of the classroom, and held out a hand for Catrina to take. 

“Do you wanna come play princess with me?” She asked, glancing over to the corner of the room with all the dressing up equipment. Adora loved playing princess, but never had anyone to do it with.

“I hate princesses.” Catrina mumbled out, slapping Adora’s hand away and walking into the classroom, straight to the window. She sat on the ledge, leaning her head on the glass as she wiped the tears that remained on her cheeks.

“Oh.... okay.” Adora frowned, but followed Catrina to the window. She sat on the floor in front of her, with her legs criss cross apple-sauce. Catrina looked at her briefly, noticing the determined expression on her face. Why was this girl following her? She didn’t want her here. Catrina wanted to be by herself. She thought she made that clear when she called her lame yesterday.

“Catra? Why were you crying earlier?” Adora asked, playing with her thumbs nervously. She never realised the mispronunciation of her name as she said it. 

“‘M not crying. And it’s Catrina, not Catra.” She pouted, not moving from her position at the window in the slightest. Adora blushed at her mistake, but started to think about it. ‘Catra’ suited her. She was mean, like a cat. And she had two really pointy teeth, which Adora thought were super cool.

“Nah. I’m gonna call you Catra!” Adora grinned, standing up and patting Catra’s head. Catra flinched, and without even realising, scratched Adora’s cheek. Catra moved her hand away instantly, and looked down shamefully. Madame Weaver said she would be in big trouble if she hurt anyone again. She was tired of having to find different schools for Catra, and said this was the final one. She curled up into a ball and waited for Adora to go tell on her, for her to be shouted at, for her to go in time out- but it didn’t happen.

Instead, Adora started laughing. She was giggling, her hand covering her mouth.   
“You’re just like a cat!” Adora grinned, looking at Catra’s confused expression. “Catra is a good name for you!”

And for the first time in ages, Catra smiled. Maybe this school wouldn’t be too bad.

-

The bell rang for recess, and Adora was the first out of her seat again. She was still sticking with her plan- scout out lonely people, befriend them. Her thoughts drifted back to Catra. She smiled at her! She had a pretty smile. Adora loved the way her fangs poked out, although she was missing a couple of teeth next to them. She smiled with her eyes, too. 

Adora wondered if Catra had anyone to play with. She probably had loads of friends already. She scanned the playground, before spotting the curly haired girl. She was poking at something with a stick, and Adora was immediately curious. She ran over to her, stopping right next to her and grinning.

“Whatcha doing?” She asked, looking down at whatever Catra was poking at. It was a frog- a live frog. Adora shrieked, leaning down and picking it up. Catra glared at her.

“Hey, I was playing with that!” Catra growled.

“You can’t hurt it! It has feelings, Catra. Look, you made it sad...” she frowned, holding the frog towards Catra.

“Gross- don’t let it touch me!” Catra jumped back, startling the frog, making it jump from Adora’s hand and on to the ground. Adora picked it back up, and it seemed quite content with her.

“It’s not gross. It’s friendly. I’m gonna name it Jumpy.” Adora grinned, admiring the creature in her hand. 

“That’s a dumb name,” Catra scoffed, looking at the frog and poking its head. “Dumb frog, too.”

“Whatever. I like it, and I’m gonna set him free now!” Adora said proudly, striding towards the fenced-off pond at the edge of the playground, and kneeled down and placed Jumpy on the edge of the fence.  
“Have a good day, Jumpy!” She smiled and stood back up. She noticed her hand being warm, and furrowed her eyebrows.

“EW, IT PEED ON ME!” Adora screamed, flicking it off and running away from the pond. She heard Catra laugh behind her. Her laugh was squeaky in a cute way, and extremely contagious. Adora laughed with her, realising the hilarity of the situation. 

“Now do you think frogs are gross?” Catra remarked through giggles, placing her hand on her hip. Adora shook her head.

“Nope. Now come with me to wash my hands or I’ll wipe frog pee on you.”  
Catra followed her, smiling at the blonde girl in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, thank you so much for all the support on the last chapter!! i wanted to get this one out asap, next chapter coming tomorrow!


	3. Madame Weaver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A snippet into Catra’s home life and feelings. 
> 
> Also, Catra hates mice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> possible TW for abuse, and mentions of death. please skip the first paragraph if you are triggered by those topics !!
> 
> also this chapter is really short im sorry

Catra didn’t really like her mother. She shouted at her a lot, and it made her feel bad. Madame Weaver, as Catra has to call her, was extremely scary when she was angry. She got angry a lot, and her main target was Catra. Sometimes, if she got really mad, she would tell Catra that she didn’t deserve everything she gave her. Madame Weaver said Catra didn’t need a home, didn’t need a school, and that she should be grateful for what she had. Catra didn’t have much else, though. She slept on a mattress in a cramped bedroom, surrounded by an endless supply of boxes full of her father’s things. Catra’s father had died when she was a baby. She never got to meet him properly. Sometimes she wondered what her life would be like if he was still alive. Maybe she wouldn’t be so angry all the time, and neither would Madame Weaver. She longed for that feeling.  
-

Catra arrived at school early again. Madame Weaver dropped her outside the classroom again, although this time she didn’t stay to talk to Miss Angella. She just left Catra to go in there by herself. 

The door was shut when she approached it, so she gently knocked on it. She knew Miss Angella and Adora would be in, but she was always told it was polite to knock. Catra had been to many schools before this one. She got kicked out of all of them for “behavioural issues”, although she never knew what that meant. Teachers called her a bully, a disrespectful child, a handful. Catra just didn’t get what she was doing wrong.

Angella opened the door and spotted Catra, giving her a gentle wave. She scanned around for Madame Weaver, but she couldn’t see her. Catra furrowed her eyebrows.

“Whatcha lookin’ for?” The five-year-old asked, looking up at her teacher. Miss Angella smiled at the kid.

“No one, dear. Now come in, Adora’s been waiting for you!”

Catra smiled at the mention of Adora. She’d never really had many friends before. Everyone said she was too mean. She didn’t get how calling someone a dumb face was mean. They had a dumb face! All Catra did was tell them!

However, Adora just laughed when she said things like that. No one had ever done that before. They usually ran to the teacher and told on her, and she got sent to time out. But not with Adora. She made Catra happy, and made her feel good. She even gave her a nickname! Catra was sure this is what a friendship felt like.  
-

“Catra! Come here, I wanna show you something!” Adora called out, pointing in the direction she wanted Catra to look. Catra looked over, and her eyes widened at the sight.

It was a mouse.

Catra shrieked, jumping on to Adora’s back on instinct. Thankfully, she caught her. Catra was very light. Adora giggled at her friend’s reaction.

“You really don’t like small animals, do you?” Adora teased, trying to let her off her shoulders, but Catra wouldn’t budge. 

“ADORA, GET ME AWAY FROM THAT... MONSTER!” Catra cried, poking Adora so she would move. Adora laughed, but listened to her, running away from where they saw the mouse. Once they were far enough away, Adora let her down, and covered her mouth to stifle her giggled.

“You were so scared! It’s just a little mouse, it can’t hurt you!” Adora remarked.

“Shut up, I wasn’t that scared! Those things just have grabies!”

“Grabies?” Adora asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

“Mmhmm! It’s a disease, or somethin’, I dunno, but I don’t want it!” Catra folded her arms. Adora giggled again, taking her friends hand. Catra looked at her confused. 

“What?” Adora cocked an eyebrow.

“Why are you holding my hand?” 

“‘Cuz! Don’t best friends hold hands?” 

Catra looked at her and grinned widely, at being called her best friend.

“Heh. I guess so.”


	4. Dumb Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Adora run into trouble, and a secret hideout is found.

Over the next couple of weeks, Catra and Adora grew inseparable. Miss Angella always has trouble separating them for partner work, insisting the girls should rotate their partners, but the kids always refused. They’d moved seats so they were together, too- they sat at a group in the back of the class. Kyle used to sit there too, but Catra shouted at him enough that he moved next to Lonnie and Rogelio. Adora felt bad for him, but Catra reassured her he would be fine. And sure enough, by the next day Kyle had completely forgotten about it.

Adora took her lunch out of her backpack, peeking in the little window to see what she had for today. Ham and cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks and chocolate pudding. Her favourite! With her lunchbox in hand, she span around and took Catra’s hand, and started strolling towards the cafeteria. Catra simply smiled at her. She didn’t want to tell Adora that she was in fact, terrified of the cafeteria. They shared a cafeteria with Brightmoon Elementary, with the Kindergarteners having their own little table. Yesterday when she was walking home from school, Catra had called a 4th grader a ‘dumb face’. It was funny at the time- but the girl wanted revenge against Catra. And as soon as Catra saw her sitting at a table with a bunch of other mean-looking girls, she knew they couldn’t be in there.

“Adora,” Catra started, tugging on her friend’s sleeve to stop her going any further. Adora looked at her confused.  
“I don’t wanna go in there. We’re gonna get hurt.” 

“Why?” Adora asked. She’d never seen Catra so vulnerable before. The girl’s bright bi-coloured eyes stared into Adora’s. 

“Because I called someone a dumb face, and now they wanna kill me...” Catra mumbled. “I’m not scared, though! I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She folded her arms, smirking at Adora.

“Catra! Who did you call a dumb face?” She asked, gasping and looking around the cafeteria from the window. It was massive, and there were a /lot/ of 4th graders. Adora prayed it wasn’t-

“Octavia...” she said under her breath, and Adora’s head snapped towards her. 

“You called OCTAVIA a dumb face? She’s like, giant!” Adora shrieked, staring at her friend in disbelief.

“Well yeah, I only did it because she said my eyes were weird!” Catra pouted, looking away from Adora and sulking down to the floor. Adora immediately sympathised with Catra, sliding down the wall next to her. They sat in silence for a bit, Catra chewing at her nails and Adora staring at the floor.

“Hey. Don’t listen to her. I think your eyes are pretty!” Adora smiled, and Catra felt her cheeks heat up. Nobody had ever called her eyes pretty before. Everyone at her previous schools had always said they were freaky.

Catra was so lost in awe, she didn’t even notice Adora getting up. She walked through the door of the cafeteria and straight to Octavia’s table. As soon as Catra noticed she was gone, she shot up and peeked through the window. Adora was tapping Octavia’s shoulder with a smirk on her face.

“Hey Octavia, guess what?” Adora started, grinning at the older girl. She glanced at Catra for a second, then focused back on Octavia.

“Pfft. You /do/ have a dumb face!” She giggled, and shot out of the cafeteria. Octavia stood up, her eyebrows furrowed in anger and ready to possibly beat Adora to a pulp. Adora grabbed Catra’s hand and they ran through the school, running the long way to the playground. They were only supposed to come here if they’d finished their lunch- but they figured they’d be in enough trouble anyway, so what’s wrong with one more bad thing?

“Adora-“ Catra gasped, giggling the hardest she ever had in her life, “I can’t believe you just did that. She is gonna /kill/ us when she finds us!” She stumbled, falling over with laughter. Adora was in a similar state, snorting a little through her giggles as she dramatically fell to the ground. 

“She was so angry! I thought she was gonna get me!” She laughed. Adora noticed they were in a different part of the playground than they usually were. Actually, they weren’t in the playground at all. They’d managed to run into the abandoned school garden, which had nothing but grass and a couple of daises that had grown over the couple of years. It was nice here. Quiet. 

“Hey Catra? I think we should eat lunch here! It can be our secret lunch hideout?” Adora suggested. Catra nodded enthusiastically. 

“I like it.” She grinned. Adora opened her lunchbox and took a bite out of her sandwich, before realising that Catra didn’t have anything.

“Did you leave your lunchbox in the class?” Asked Adora with her mouth full. Catra muttered a ‘gross’ under her breath.

“Nah. Madame Weaver didn’t pack me anything, and I can’t reach the fridge...” she mumbled, trying to blow a loose strand of hair back upwards. Adora started ripping her sandwich in half. 

“Here,” she handed Catra the ripped piece of sandwich, “You can have it. Miss Angella always gives me extra, anyway.”

-

The girls finished the rest of Adora’s lunch. They had about 10 minutes of lunchtime left, and they decided to spend it cloud-gazing.

“That one looks like a chicken,” Catra sniggered, pointing to a cloud that indeed, did look like a slightly deformed chicken. Adora giggled, before pointing to another cloud.

“Look! That one looks like us!”   
The cloud looked like a scarily accurate outline of Adora and Catra, seemingly older, holding hands. Adora started to think about Catra. Do you think they would ever have to be split up? 

“Adora? Do you think we’ll be best friends forever?” Catra’s voice ringed out. The garden was practically silent, only the slightest noise of children chattering could be heard. No one really came around that area.

“Yeah! We’re gonna live in a house together, and I’m gonna be president!” Adora grinned at Catra, looking over but noticing Catra looked kind of sad.

“You promise?”

“I promise. We’ll always be friends, no matter what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was most DEFINITELY my favourite chapter to write. also, there isn’t too much of a general plot to this? just some fluffy kid catradora adventures!!


	5. Sleepovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> catra meets glimmer, and adora and catra rule the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i made a playlist for this fanfiction! its still a work in progress, but you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3tb3IA61tmKvjXUjYttoJj?si=p3HpbHKJSkyOgC02UptdHA

Catra was coming to Adora’s house for the first time. Adora had begged Angella to let her stay over, and she agreed with the exception that they included Glimmer, Adora’s foster sister, with their games. Adora agreed, and hugged Angella tightly. She really was the best foster mom Adora could ask for.

Adora wasn’t patient in the slightest. Catra was supposed so be there five minutes ago, and she was getting restless.

“Miss Angella, do you think she’s not coming?” Adora asked worriedly, a pout forming on her face. Just as Angella opened her mouth to speak, a loud knock was heard at the door.

“I’ll get it!” Adora shouted, running to the door.   
“Hi Catra! Look, I wanna show you some-“ she glanced up, noticing it was Madame Weaver standing in front of her, while Catra was still getting her stuff from the back of the car. Adora’s faced flushed red, and she ran past Madame Weaver.

“Catra, I think your mom hates me.” She started, folding her arms. Catra jumped hearing her voice. She didn’t realise she was there.

“She’s not my mom. She’s my caregiver,” Catra rolled her eyes. “And I know, she’s scary.”

-

Adora kicked open the door to her and Glimmer’s room, and Catra gasped. Their room was bright pink with sparkly wallpaper, and the wooden flooring was covered in pink carpet. Glimmer’ bed was covered in stuffed animals, pillows and a massive comforter. She had a lava lamp on a bedside table (pink, obviously) which lit up her side of the room.

Adora’s side was slightly less decorated. Her bed was neatly made with a single pillow, and a singular stuffed horse laying on her red bedsheets. Catra looked in awe.

“Your room’s so big...” she mumbled. She spotted Glimmer’s stuff and furrowed her eyebrows.   
“Who sleeps there?”

“I DO!” A voice shouted. The girl appeared out of nowhere, almost as if she teleported in the room. She had short, messy strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes that looked almost purple in the light and tan skin. She had a little purple dress on, with massive boots way too big for her. 

“I’m Glimmer, and this side is mine! I’ve heard a lot about you, Catra.” She pointed to her side of the room, then back at Catra. She was only 4, but she knew how to handle herself just fine.

Catra scowled. “Why’d you think I’d sleep in your sparkly princess room, anyway? I’m sleeping on Adora’s side.” 

Adora watched her best friend and sister glare at each other. She didn’t want them to fight. She wanted them all to be friends. She had to distract them, and do something everyone would like.

“Um, guys?” Adora started. “Do you wanna play Minecraft?”

Glimmer and Catra both turned to her immediately, wide grins on their faces. 

-

The three kids sat on the massive sofa in the playroom, Adora in the middle as a peacemaker between Glimmer and Catra. They were building a castle in Minecraft, and Glimmer was being very precise with her room. Her tongue was poking out in concentration as she tried to press the right buttons. She got mixed up a lot, considering she couldn’t read very well. 

“Glimmer, you’re so dumb. You press ZL to place blocks, not ZR. That’s easy stuff.” Catra snickered. Glimmer glared at her, standing up and balling her hands into fists. 

“Shut up Catra! I dunno my left and right!” She pouted, folding her arms. Catra laughed at her.

“Aww, you’re such a baby. I knew /my/ left and right when I was four...” she teased. Glimmer lifted her foot and kicked Catra from where she was standing, before sitting down again. 

“Ouch, that hurt! Adora, your sister is being a mean butt!” Catra frowned. Adora took a deep breath. She was trying not to get angry at her friends fighting. 

“Let’s watch a movie. And I’ll decide, because I know you guys will just be mean to each other. And I wanna watch Annie!” Adora smiled and turned off the game, switching to Netflix and putting on Annie. 

Glimmer and Catra both groaned in unison.

-

After an hour or so of Adora loudly belting ‘Tomorrow’ and reciting half the movie, Glimmer had somehow fallen asleep against Adora. Adora picked the younger girl up and placed her on her back, motioning for Catra to come with her. Catra groaned, but followed anyway. Adora placed Glimmer in her bed and tucked her in, before turning to Catra and sneaking out the room. She closed the door behind her.

“You gotta stop being so mean to Glimmer! She’s only little,” Adora said, even though she was only a year younger than her.

“But she’s annoying! And dumb.” Catra folded her arms.

“She’s little! Whatever, do you wanna play family?” 

Catra nodded and the girls ran back to the playroom, where Adora pulled out a massive trunk full of dressing up clothes. She opened it and ruffled through it, before pulling out a white dress. She shoved it on on top of her clothes, and spun around. 

“My name’s She-Ra, and I’m a princess.” Adora giggled. Catra rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. Catra looked through the trunk and pulled out cat ears and a tail.

“I’m Catra, and I’m a cool warrior who can fight real good!” She exclaimed, throwing her fist in the air. 

“Yeah, and we’re married!” Adora smiled. “And we’re gonna rule the world together, and we’ll both be queens of the world.

Catra looked confused. She never knew two girls could get married to each other.   
“Girls can get married to each other?” Catra asked, blushing a little. Catra wouldn’t mind marrying Adora. 

“Yeah, duh! Why wouldn’t they be able to?” She turned to Catra.

“I dunno,” Catra shrugged, “just never thought about it before. Wait- so they can kiss and stuff?!” 

“I mean, yeah... that’s gross though.” Adora snorted. Catra agreed, sticking her tongue out. 

“I’d rather kiss a girl then a boy! Boys are gross!” She exclaimed. 

“Me too. I will never ever kiss a boy!” Adora giggled.

-

After hours of playing family and ruling the world, the girls were getting incredibly tired. Catra was struggling to keep her eyes open, and Adora was falling in and out of sleep. They were sitting curled up on a massive beanbag, Catra’s head on Adora’s chest. ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ was playing quietly in the background. 

“Adora?” Catra whispered. “Should we go sleep in your room?”

Adora was half asleep, but opened an eye when Catra spoke.

“Nuh uh. ‘M comfy,” Adora mumbled. 

“Well I’m cold. I’ll go get a blanket, okay?” Catra got up, grabbing the nearest blanket and lying back down, spreading the blanket over the two girls. Adora was almost asleep, but wrapped her arm around Catra. Catra nuzzled into her, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. 

Adora pressed her lips against Catra’s head, and mumbled under her breath,

“G’night Catra.”


	6. I see the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> angella asks catra some important questions, and adora and catra become rapunzel and flynn.
> 
> possible tw for referenced child abuse

The next morning, Catra was the first to wake up. She yawned sleepily, nuzzling into the warmth she was surrounded by. She never had warmth in her own house. Her scraggly blanket she’d had since she was a baby barely covered her legs. The comfort and bliss she felt right now was possibly the happiest she’d ever been. She closed her eyes, and fell straight back to sleep.

Around 30 minutes later, Catra woke up again to the scent of pancakes cooking. She sat up, untangling herself from Adora’s arms and stretching with her arms out. Adora stirred in her sleep, but immediately went back to snoring. Catra stifled her giggles with her hand, smiling at her friend. She stood up from the beanbag and snuck out of the room, making her way to the large kitchen of the Brightmoon house. It amazed Catra that a house could be so large, and that so little people could live in such a big building. The little flat her and Madame Weaver lived in was a one bedroomed shit-hole on the edge of town. It definitely wasn’t child friendly. Not that Madame Weaver cared, of course. Catra hated Madame Weaver, or Shadow Weaver as she’d nicknamed her in her head. And Catra was pretty sure Shadow Weaver hated her too, but there was a tiny sliver of hope that one day, she’d be proud of Catra for something. Although, she knew she didn’t need Shadow Weaver’s approval. She could do whatever she wanted. But this one part of Catra longed to impress her, and maybe make Shadow Weaver proud of the girl she brought up.

Catra arrived in the kitchen and was greeted by Angella, standing at the stove and adding pancakes to the already massive stack in front of her. Catra’s mouth watered. She’d never tried pancakes before, but she always thought they looked delicious. She hopped up on to the seat of the kitchen island, struggling a bit due to height but made it eventually. The girl blew her unruly curls out of her face and looked at Angella. Angella was the perfect mom, in Catra’s eyes. 

“Good morning, Catrina. Help yourself to a pancake.” Angella smiled at her, passing her a plate. Catra remembered to use her manners and mumbled out a ‘thank you,’ stabbing her fork into a pancake and placing it on to her plate. She looked around the table- there were a bunch of toppings scattered around the tabletop. Catra picked up a bottle of maple syrup, furrowing her eyebrows at the substance.

“Miss Angella, what’s this stuff?” She asked, holding the bottle up for her to see. Angella looked at her weirdly.

“That’s maple syrup, sweetheart. Have you never had it before?” 

Catra shook her head.  
“I’ve never even had a pancake before...” she mumbled, fiddling with the bottle of syrup. She managed to get it open and poured it all over her pancake, accidentally putting way too much on.

“Oops.”

Angella was concerned for Catra. She was sure every five-year-old knew what maple syrup was. And surely, every kid had tried a pancake. She noticed that Catra had missed out on a lot of things. Catra didn’t know what a bedtime story was. She didn’t know what being “tucked in” meant, either. Angella always suspected Sheila Weaver as an... interesting parent, but Angella was concerned that she wasn’t even a parent to Catra at all.

“Catrina, do you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?” Angella asked, and Catra shrugged, digging in to her pancakes with sparkles in her eyes. 

“What do you normally have for breakfast in the mornings?”

Catra thought for a second, then swallowed her mouthful of pancake.

“Uh, either bread or nothing. Shadow Weaver says I shouldn’t eat too much, or I’ll get unhealthy and nobody will want to be my friend.” She bit her lip. 

Angella nodded. That’s what she expected. She couldn’t let Catra live in a house with her anymore.

“Alright. Do you wanna stay over here for a couple more days? Perhaps for a week or so?”

Catra’s eyes lit up. Staying with Adora and her family for a whole week?! 

“Yeah! Can I go tell Adora?” She stood up, jumping off the stool.

Angella laughed. 

“Of course. Wake Glimmer up as well, please.”

Catra gave Angella a thumbs up, and ran off to go wake up her sleeping friend. Angella went to go file a police report against Sheila Weaver.

-

Catra and Adora’s kindergarten class were having a movie day. They were on their second movie, Tangled. Adora absolutely loved this movie. Rapunzel was her all time favourite princess. One day, Adora wanted to grow her hair out as long as hers and be as cool as her. She sat on her cushion on the floor, chin resting on her elbow and she sat cross-legged. 

“Psst, Adora!” Catra whispered in her ear, and Adora turned to her with a smile. 

“Look. Miss Angella’s gone out, and no one’s looking. We should sneak out!” Catra suggested, giving her signature toothy grin.

“But I like this movie!” Adora whispered back, a frown on her face but not completely against the idea.

“If we go to the classroom next door, we can still hear it? Please?” She begged, putting on her best puppy dog eyes (or as Adora called them, kitty cat eyes).

Adora rolled her eyes, but got up anyways.

“Let’s go, then.” She whispered, grabbing Catra’s hand and dragging her up. They always sat at the back of the class, so sneaking out was easy. They both giggled, intertwining their hands as they ran through the halls of their school to the next empty classroom. 

“We’re gonna be in so much trouble if we get caught...” Adora looked at Catra, and they both burst into laughter. Catra pointed with her free hand to a massive fish tank at the back of the classroom, stocked with colourful tropical fish. Adora gasped, dragging Catra over and staring at the fish.

“They’re so pretty!” She giggled, watching as the fish swam gracefully in the tank. Catra was more focused on Adora. She never realised how pretty she was before. The low light of the fish tank made her eyes stand out, reflecting the ripples of the tank in front of her. Catra’s cheeks started flushing red, and Adora noticed. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, and Catra nodded furiously. Why did she feel like this? Adora was making her feel as if she had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Adora giggled at her. Catra smiled back.

They could briefly hear the music of ‘I see the Light’ from Tangled playing from their classroom next door.

“I love this part. We should recreate it!” Adora suggested. Catra nodded.

They gathered a bunch of pillows and arranged them in to a boat shape, before taking positions to imitate Flynn and Rapunzel. Adora pulled her hair out of her ponytail and shook her head, tucking a piece behind her ear. She started lipsyncing the lyrics, then started singing, a little off-key. She dragged her hand through the imaginary water, turning her head to Catra and smiling.

“And at last I see the light,” she sang quietly, staring at the roof of the classroom in wonder, imagining the sky full of magical lanterns. Catra was staring at Adora in awe. Adora turned back to her and sat in front of her, glancing in to Catra’s eyes. She took both her hands, and pretended to lift a lantern in to the sky.

To Adora’s surprise, Catra started singing. Adora had never heard her voice, and it was amazing. She sang softly, but it was sweet as candy. Catra took Adora’s hand again, and their voices mixed together. It wasn’t perfect in the slightest- Adora couldn’t quite get the key right, no matter how hard she tried. They were in the moment, singing their little hearts out and recreating the scene. 

The song neared its end, and Adora knew what was coming. She stared into Catra’s eyes and tucked the piece of Adora’s hair that kept falling out of place behind her ear. They both leaned forward and before Adora could react, Catra leaned forward and kissed Adora on the cheek. She pulled away quickly and covered her mouth, closing her eyes. Adora was gonna be so mad at her—

“Catra!” Adora gasped, giggling as she pressed her fingers to where Catra had kissed her. “Come back, I wanna give you one back!”

Adora tackled Catra and the two girls giggled, playfully wrestling on the floor as Adora tried to kiss Catra’s cheek. 

“Stop! Adora, it’s gross!” Catra shouted, laughing and trying to push Adora off her. They fought for what felt like hours, before being interrupted by a very loud “Ahem”.

The girls looked at each other, then slowly turned towards the door to see a very angry Miss Angella.

“Uh oh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey sorry for the little hiatus, i was locked out my account for a bit !!
> 
> also i made a tumblr!! hmu on @ horde-fighter , and on twitter as @ FRlGHTZONE (the i is a lowercase L)


	7. Everything has Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the finale! 
> 
> catra and adora take a trip to the zoo, and a confession is made.

A couple of years went by, and Adora and Catra’s final day of kindergarten was around the corner. The girls were closer than ever. Catra had been staying in the Brightmoon residence more often than not, only returning to her “mother” when she practically begged for her to come home. Catra knew she didn’t want to return- but there was this one feeling inside her that couldn’t stop her from coming back. 

“Catrina, why _do_ you want to go back?” Angella had asked her one time, and Catra found herself at a loss for words. She looked down and fumbled with the hem of her t-shirt, not wanting to answer the question. Angella always understood Catra. Sometimes, Catra didn’t want to talk to anyone but Adora, and would lash out on the other kids. Instead of shouting at her like all her previous teachers, Angella always managed to calm Catra down. She usually let her stay after school, and just talk about how she was feeling. Catra hated talking. She preferred to express herself in different ways, such as art. Angella would let her grab a crayon and scribble all over the tables, then stay with her and help clean up. Sometimes Adora would be there too, and it made Catra feel so much better.

-

The last day of school was approaching, and Miss Angella’s class were going on their final school trip. This time, their destination was the zoo. Adora absolutely loved animals, _especially_ horses. They were standing outside the school, Adora bouncing up and down while grasping Catra’s hand tightly, pointing to the incoming bus.

“Look! The bus! C’mon Catra, I wanna get a seat at the back!” She giggled, practically dragging Catra on the bus. Catra smiled- not quite sharing Adora’s enthusiasm, but her best friend never failed to make her smile. They claimed their seats at the very back of the bus, Adora in the window seat and Catra on the outside. Catra blew a raspberry at a group of boys who told them to move, and Adora gasped.

“Don’t be mean!” She scolded.

“Did you really want to move, though?” Catra cocked an eyebrow, glancing at Adora. Adora looked away immediately shaking her head. Catra smirked. 

The bus started moving, and Catra fell asleep on Adora’s shoulder almost immediately. Adora leaned against her- not quite asleep, but staring out the window while playing with a strand of Catra’s hair. The zoo came into view, and Adora shot up. She shook Catra gently, watching as the girl rubbed her eyes with her fists and yawned. 

“Hi, sleepyhead. We’re here.” Adora grinned, and Catra blushed at the fact she’d fallen asleep. The bus came to a halt. As soon as they stepped off, they instinctively reached for each other’s hands and intertwined them, lining up next to the rest of their class for a head count.

“Where’d you wanna go first? I wanna see all the snakes!” Catra whispered into Adora’s ear. 

“I wanna see the horses!”

-

They ended up not seeing either animal.

Catra had passed out about an hour into the trip, in the middle of the reptiles exhibit. Nobody knew why- but Angella had her assumptions. She woke up around 5 minutes later, to an extremely worried Adora hovering over her.

“Give her space sweetheart,” Catra heard Angella say, and Adora whined. Catra’s eyes fluttered open and almost immediately she was tackled in a hug.

“Catra! Are you alive? Are you breathing?!” Adora panicked, frantically poking Catra’s cheek to make sure she was alive. Catra groaned,

“Knock it off! I’m alive.” 

Adora smiled at her, and Catra smiled back. They sat smiling at each other for what felt like forever, lost in their own little world. In Adora’s head, an image of the two of them getting married played, Adora in a white poofy dress and a massive flower crown, and Catra in a maroon suit. Their imaginary wedding was extravagant, with a giant waterfall flowing through the reception.

Meanwhile, Catra was imagining a whole different scenario. In Catra’s mind, Adora and her were ruling the world together, in a universe where princesses and the bad guys (who she named the Horde) were against each other. Catra and Adora ruled the Horde, and crushed all the princesses below them. 

Catra leaned her head against Adora’s, her hand reaching to brush a strand of hair out of Adora’s face. Adora’s cheeks heated up. She loved moments like these with Adora. Despite being two hyperactive, newly 7 year olds, they always found that quiet times were some of their favourite. After a long day of adventures, sometimes they would just snuggle up and stare at each other.

They both snapped out of their little world as Angella coughed, blushes both tinting their cheeks. 

“You two are going to be together forever, aren’t you?” Angella chuckled under her breath, and the girls nodded with huge grins on their faces.

-

And they were. The two of them stayed as friends until sophomore year, before realising there was something more. They’d experimented with each other before- because who else would Adora practise kissing with?

“Catra?” A 15 year old Adora asks, walking into her best friend’s room. When they were around 8, Madame Weaver had lost custody of Catra, and she was adopted by a lesbian couple, Spinerella and Netossa. They loved Catra endlessly.

“What’s up?” Catra pats the space next to her on the bed, moving up so Adora could sit down. Adora looked scared- no, _terrified._ Catra was concerned.

“I- um,” she started, covering her face with her hands. She took a deep breath, and started again.  
“I think I’m uh, a lesbian, and Ikindawannafindoutwhatit’sliketokissagirl?” She spat out, her words spoken so fast they were unintelligible.

“Woah woah woah, calm down.” Catra placed a hand on Adora’s shoulder, and Adora looked down.  
“Hey, I’m questioning too. It’s not that big of a deal,” she comforted Adora.  
“What was the last bit?”

Adora shook her head frantically.  
“You know, it doesn’t even matter-“ she was cut off by Catra’s hand resting atop hers. 

“Please. Tell me.” She held eye contact with Adora, and Adora’s cheeks turned crimson.

“You’re gonna laugh,” Adora pouted. “But fine. I was, uh, wondering what it would be like to kiss a girl and I wanted to ask if you would.... you know, kiss me.....” 

Catra blushed. Was Adora seriously asking to kiss her? Catra had been crushing on Adora for about a year, but she would _never_ tell Adora her feelings. However, now Adora had came out to her.... maybe she had a chance?

She rolled her eyes.  
“Adora, you’re such a dork. We used to kiss all the time when we were little.”

“Yeah, on the cheek! I meant like, on _the lips_.” Adora whined.

Catra giggled. Adora was _too_ cute.

“It’s fine! Besides, I wouldn’t want my first kiss to be with anyone but you...” Catra mumbled under her breath, hoping Adora didn’t hear it.

But she did, of course. Adora smirked, getting ready to tease her best friend.

“Aww, I can’t believe you like me. That’s so embarrassing for you,” she snorted, poking Catra in the ribs.

“Oh shut up,” she rolled her eyes, pulling Adora closer to her, “and kiss me already.”

Adora giggled, her cheeks turning scarlet.

“Okay.” They both leaned in and pressed their lips against each other, pulling away quickly. They gave each other a look and immediately joined their lips again, Adora cupping Catra’s cheek while Catra wrapped her arms around her waist. The kiss wasn’t perfect- it was messy, teeth clicking against each other- but the girls didn’t care, too focused on each other to care about anything else.

“Catra, where’d you put the- Oh.” Netossa burst into Catra’s room, and the girls jumped away from each other, flinging themselves to opposite sides of the bed. 

“It’s not what it looks like, I swear!” Adora shouted, frantically fixing her shirt from where Catra had been pulling on it.

“Yeah we’re not like, dating or anything,” Catra added.

Netossa chuckled at them.

“Do whatever you want, just keep it PG,” she said, and the girls both blushed furiously, each going into a ramble about how they would never do that.

-

The next couple of weeks after that, both Catra and Adora were complete messes around each other. Neither could get a sentence out without stuttering, and there was a permanent blush on both their cheeks. 

They were sitting in their shared math class- next to each other, of course. Adora shoved a scrunched up piece of paper into Catra’s hand, before looking away. Catra furrowed her eyebrows, opening the bit of paper.

_Skip next period with me? - Adora_

Catra giggled, writing a _yes_ on the paper before shoving it into Adora’s pocket.

As soon as the bell rang, Adora and Catra ran out of class and outside of the door, giggling like they used to when they were kids. They sat down against the wall outside.

“We haven’t skipped in ages. Any particular reason why?” Catra asked, bumping shoulders with her.

Adora flushed. “I wanted to ask you something....”

“Sure. What’s up, princess?” Catra teased.

“Actually, it’s not a question. I..... I, uh, like you... and if this ruins our friendship I’ll totally let it slide, but I just thought I’d tell you, you know?”

Catra’s head turned so fast she might’ve had whiplash. “Are you being serious?”

Adora gulped. “Yeah...”

Before Adora could say anything else, Catra smashed their lips together, and Adora’s eyes fluttered shut. They made out against that wall for what felt like hours, despite it only being around 10 minutes really. They were interrupted by a teacher shouting at them.

“Shit,” Catra mumbled against Adora’s now-swollen lips. They ducked behind the bush nearest to them, giggling at the familiarity of the situation.

“Hey,” Catra nudged Adora. “Wanna be my girlfriend?”

Adora laughed, leaning her head against Catra’s shoulder.

“Duh. I’ve been trying for like, 3 months now.”

There’s a saying that people have 3 true loves in their lifetime. The first one always means the most to you, because they taught you what love is. The second one will break you. And the third one, you’ll stay with forever.

But for Catra and Adora, sometimes all it takes is growing up with a person. Someone you know inside and out, someone you can be yourself with- someone you love. Catra didn’t believe in soulmates- but maybe, Adora was the exception. She couldn’t imagine herself with anyone else, and she knew Adora felt the same. 

Catra knew they were destined to find each other. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! thank you to everyone for supporting this fanfic <333 
> 
> i’m the worst at writing endings im sorry!! i have another fic i’ve written, i’m sitting here (crying in my prom dress)

**Author's Note:**

> hi, i hope you enjoy this fic 🥺 inspired by the “everything has changed” music video by taylor swift and ed sheeran. please leave a comment if you enjoyed !!


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